In a recent interview with CRN Meg is not sure what OS will come on board in a new smartphone that HP will apparently unveil in 2014.

Whitman passed on the question of which operating system, be it the Android, Windows Phone or WebOS, HP would adopt for its smartphone.

"Ultimately, if we decide to do a smartphone ... we will make a decision about what the right operating system is," she said.

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Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) CEO Meg Whitman said that while she does not expect her company to release a smartphone until 2014 at the earliest, HP will be a major force in the tablet and mobile PC markets.

Whitman also said during a question-and-answer period during her Mastermind presentation at last week's Gartner US Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, Fla., that HP has to be a competitor in the smartphone and PC markets as the two merge into a gigantic mobile device market.

"Listen, there will be ups and downs in this business," she said. "PCs may be declining. Tablets may be growing. The business definition here is 'personal systems.' It's not PCs. It's personal systems. And we think we can win."

[Related: HP's Meg Whitman: Cisco's John Chambers A Good Friend, But Wrong About HP]

Whitman said HP will not have a smartphone in 2013.

"But I suspect we will beyond that because we've got to, I believe, have the full array of devices," she said. "If we are in the personal.

compute business, the smartphone is the main device in many countries in the world. I don't know how we can be HP without having the full range of devices."

Mont Phelps, CEO of NWN, a Waltham, Mass.-based solution provider and long-term HP partner, said he is glad to see HP's strategy for moving forward on the smartphone and tablet PC markets. And for anyone who thinks HP is late to the market, Phelps said he is not sure he agrees.

"What's the shelf life on these products?" he said. "Slightly longer than for my underwear. Stability has come to the PC and desktop. But the market for smartphones and tablets is still developing. If someone comes out with a better solution, we have the capacity to develop the market. Look at the Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) iPhone. The fifth generation is out already. First movers have the advantage. But over time, the better solutions win."

Even so, the smartphone and tablet PC market do differ in terms of timing, Phelps said.

"I'm more concerned about the pads," he said. "The longer we go without a business-compatible Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) solution, the bigger the effort to force the iPad into businesses. I don't think that is the right thing for us in the business. The longer this goes on, the more traction the iPad gets." The smartphone market is different, Phelps said. "Smartphones don't have the competitive pressures from Android," he said. "I'm enjoying the battles between Apple and Google."

Whitman passed on the question of which operating system, be it the Android, Windows Phone or WebOS, HP would adopt for its smartphone.

"Ultimately, if we decide to do a smartphone ... we will make a decision about what the right operating system is," she said.

Whitman was also asked about how she feels about Microsoft entering the tablet PC business with its own hardware, to which she replied that Microsoft is still a really good partner of HP.

"I come from a world of coopetition," she said. "In my career, sometimes you're cooperating, sometimes you're competing. We're very comfortable with that. And we'll put our capability for devices against anyone's, including Microsoft's."

HP has some huge strengths it can use to compete in this new tablet PC market, including its engineers, its distribution and its trusted relationship with CIOs, Whitman said. "So competition? Bring it on," she said. "I think it makes us better."

Whitman said that Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT)'s Surface appears to be focused on the consumer business. In this market, HP is coming out with two hybrid models that function both as a laptop and, when the screen is unlocked from the keyboard, as a tablet PC. While the Surface has a keyboard, the device does not really function as a traditional laptop, she said.

"We think there's a lot of growth in the enterprise for tablets for workers," she said. "So whether you're an insurance company or a retailer or, you name it, there is a demand for tablets in the enterprise that is enterprise-grade, enterprise-built for security."

With HP (NYSE:HPQ)'s tablet, users can remove the back or replace the screen. They feature a 10-hour battery life, which can be extended another 10 hours via a "Smart Jacket" that fits over the tablet, she said.

When asked why staying in the PC business is important to HP, Whitman said that after she joined HP, it was the first big decision she had to make after her predecessor Leo Apotheker said the company was considering selling off its PC division. But after a 30-day review by a team of 100 people, the company decided it made sense to stay in the PC business.

One reason was the fact that PCs were the heritage of HP. "It's nearly a $40 billion business," she said. "We're still No. 1 in the marketplace."

HP also gets tremendous supply-chain synergies by having a large PC business to go with its server and storage business.

Microsoft is putting a lot of pressure on HP. We'll see how things turn out, but HP should keep in mind that "Windows Phones" aren't exactly sexy. If people want one, they already have Nokia to turn to.

Listen up. Meg was there and agreed with leo that they should quit making phones

Yeah, but she changed her mind saying "In many countries of the world that is your first computing device, there will be countries on the world where people that never own a tablet or a PC or a desktop, will do everything on the smartphone. We are a computing company, we have to take advantage of that form factor."

As stated by numerous people in many threads, HP HAS to get into the mobile market if it wants to stay relavent.

-- Sent from my TouchPad using Communities

Absolutely no choice. And then HP has to be a big player. They can scratch for share (and margin) with all the other Android makes, with Microsoft (who will no doubt be making phones to go with its tablets) OR....they can parlay all their marketing and enterprise into a new and improved webOS. I can't say this is a no-brainer, but IF HP wants to be a big player in 10 years they have to seperate themselves from the rest of the mkt. webOS is the most likely way to accomplish this.

In a recent interview with CRN Meg is not sure what OS will come on board in a new smartphone that HP will apparently unveil in 2014.

Whitman passed on the question of which operating system, be it the Android, Windows Phone or WebOS, HP would adopt for its smartphone.

"Ultimately, if we decide to do a smartphone ... we will make a decision about what the right operating system is," she said.

Sounds like the fencepost she is sitting on is firmly between the her left and right "gluteus maximus" muscles... if you know what I mean. They are trying to play it safe. So that means wait until someone else sells a million phones with one of the mentioned OS'es and then come out with a "me too" product.

It's practically 2013 for crying out loud! If she doesn't know by now, it means they will not release a phone in 2013 (or know that their choice would ridiculed if it were public knowledge now). Not even an agile company can make such a major decision on such a short time frame... and HP has not been know for moving quickly, maybe they will change "in the coming months" (sorry, I couldn't resist )

They might as well just move on with their plan to be a player in the services arena, because this plan will not work. Seems they were hoping that Windows would be a force in the market, but that is not looking too promising right now. And outside of Samsung and Googl-rola, not many are making out in the Android market either. The cost to develop a breakthrough product in that space is more that they would likely be willing to pay.

(A 'breakthrough' product has evolved past just making a bigger screen or more RAM)

HP should have stuck it out and applied more intelligence to the process, not just more money. Because now it will take much more of both than was needed 18 months ago, I I'm not sure if they can afford to spare either.

Sounds like the fencepost she is sitting on is firmly between the her left and right "gluteus maximus" muscles... if you know what I mean. They are trying to play it safe. So that means wait until someone else sells a million phones with one of the mentioned OS'es and then come out with a "me too" product.

It's practically 2013 for crying out loud! If she doesn't know by now, it means they will not release a phone in 2013 (or know that their choice would ridiculed if it were public knowledge now). Not even an agile company can make such a major decision on such a short time frame... and HP has not been know for moving quickly, maybe they will change "in the coming months" (sorry, I couldn't resist )

They might as well just move on with their plan to be a player in the services arena, because this plan will not work. Seems they were hoping that Windows would be a force in the market, but that is not looking too promising right now. And outside of Samsung and Googl-rola, not many are making out in the Android market either. The cost to develop a breakthrough product in that space is more that they would likely be willing to pay.

(A 'breakthrough' product has evolved past just making a bigger screen or more RAM)

HP should have stuck it out and applied more intelligence to the process, not just more money. Because now it will take much more of both than was needed 18 months ago, I I'm not sure if they can afford to spare either.

C

Agree, HP will play safe and will come with a me too product, if they don`t want to spend some money in marketing research and campaing and that is a lot $$$$$

It's 100%, that it will NOT be WebOS. They will go for WP8 and that's it. You all don't want to hear it, but WebOS is truly dead for the masses. It's just a niche OS for a left little fanbase, like linux on computers, but linux is good. Don't misunderstand me. I love WebOS. I got a Pre3. It is the best user interface, but is NOT the best operating system. Lack of functions, bad performance, etc etc. I hope HP is going for a Pre3-like form factor. With WP8, I'll be in.

With Microsoft's chief Windows guy suddenly leaving, surface modest sales, Windows 8 does not seem the light at the end of the tunnel...

Sad too since it's the closest thing to the previously promised webOS ecosystem unless you want to go iOS. I haven't fully bought in to Win 8/WP8 but then again took me years to finally convert to Win 7

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I love physical keyboards... but there is two devices that would make me consider a slab, one is something running a full version of Open webOS. The other is an iPhone!!!! HA HA just kidding (about the iPhone that is)...

It is when the dream of a true ecosystem of devices is going with it. I had such high hopes for webOS on the PC, etc.

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I love physical keyboards... but there is two devices that would make me consider a slab, one is something running a full version of Open webOS. The other is an iPhone!!!! HA HA just kidding (about the iPhone that is)...